Activities of Peter van DALEN related to 2021/2055(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Persecution of minorities on the grounds of belief or religion (short presentation)
Amendments (22)
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 29 a (new)
Citation 29 a (new)
— having regard to its resolutions of 18 April 2019, 19 December 2019 and 17 December 2020 on the situation of religious and ethnic minorities in China,
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 30 a (new)
Citation 30 a (new)
— having regard to its resolutions of 28 November 2019 and 26 November 2020 on the deteriorating situation of human rights in Algeria,
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 31 a (new)
Citation 31 a (new)
— having regard to its resolution of 16 January 2020 on Nigeria, notably the recent terrorist attacks,
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 32
Citation 32
— having regard to its resolution of 29 April 2021 on blasphemy laws in Pakistan, in particular the case of Shagufta Kausar and Shafqat Emmanuel9 , its resolution of 14 April 2016 on Pakistan, in particular the attack in Lahore, and its resolution of 13 December 2018 on Iran, notably the case of Nasrin Sotoudeh, __________________ 9 Texts adopted, P9_TA(2021)0157.
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 32 a (new)
Citation 32 a (new)
— having regard to its report of 16 April 2021 on EU-India relations,
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas not only believers, but also those who support or defend them, such as lawyers, can become targets following social uprising; whereas even the outcome of judicial procedures is no guarantee for safety for believers and those who support or defend them;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
Ea. whereas the Commission appointed on 4 May 2021, Mr Christos Stylianides as Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief (FoRB) outside the EU;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Stresses that among believers’ groups, Christians are estimated to constitute the majority of people facing persecution for their faith; underlines that globally around 340 million Christians experience high levels of persecution and discrimination, with over 4 500 Christians killed for their faith, 4 500 churches and other Christian buildings attacked, and over 4 200 believers detained without trial, arrested, sentenced or imprisoned in 2020 alone; is alarmed about the increase in the overall level of discrimination,stresses that these are minimum figures since many incidents go unreported; is alarmed about the increase in the overall level of persecution and discrimination, which increased by 19% between 2019 and 2020; and especially about the sharp 60% increase in the number of faith-related killings compared to 2019;
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Notes with particular concern that persecution of Christians is widespread in the Middle East, at times amounting to genocide, and has prompted an exodus of Christians from the region over the past two decades, resulting in approximately 15 million Christians making up 4 % of the population in the Middle East and North Africa, down from 20 % a century ago; is alarmed by the situation in Iraq, where there were 1.5 million Christians before 2003, a number now reduced by 87% within one generation to approximately 175,000;
Amendment 190 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Notes that persecution of religious minorities in Asia is commonplace in many countries, especially in those with communist regimes, and that blasphemy laws are of particular concern, particularly in Pakistan, that disproportionately target minorities, including Christians and Hindus; notes that in addition to the penalties, these laws create an environment and pretext that lead to riots and mob violence against religious minorities’ communities and neighbourhoods as well as their temples, which create intimidation and social unrest among them;
Amendment 194 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16a. Is alarmed that religious nationalism in countries such as India, Turkey, Bhutan, Malaysia, Laos, Myanmar and Nepal leads to stigmatization of Christians as allies of the West and that 2 out of 5 Christians in Asia experience persecution or discrimination for their faith; draws attention to the worsening situations in China and India in particular;
Amendment 219 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Condemns the violence and attacks by radical Hindus in India against religious minorities, including mobs;
Amendment 239 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Recalls that after major defeats of 'ISIS/Daesh' in Syria and the Middle East, the terror organisation is gaining new ground through its affiliates in the Sahel, among others in Mali and Burkina Faso, aiming at imposing its rule and violent ideology in the area;
Amendment 246 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Particularly underlines the alarming situation in Nigeria, where 3530 Christians were killed in 2020;
Amendment 287 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Condemns the use by authoritarian regimes of legislation on security, sedition and the fight against terrorism and extremism as an instrument to persecute persons belonging to religious minorities, to outlaw the practise or expression of their religion and gatherings of believers, and to deter the registration of religious associations or finding pretexts for closing churches such as in China and Algeria; calls on the Commission and European External Action Service (EEAS) to monitor carefully the implementation of such legislation, and to consistently raise this issue in bilateral dialogues with the governments concerned; urges EU Member States to reject any request by foreign authorities for judicial and police cooperation in individual judicial cases if they are based on such legislation;
Amendment 300 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Deplores the fact that more than 70 countries in the world enforce criminal laws or seek to introduce new legislation which provide for punishments for blasphemy, apostasy and conversion, including the death sentence; notes that laws already in place are used disproportionately against people belonging to religious minorities, and are thus seen, with good reason, as an instrument of oppression; calls for the EU to intensify its political dialogue with all countries concerned with a view to repeal those laws; underlines that converts leaving a majority faith often experience the most severe violations including imprisonment, forced divorce, abduction, physical violence and murder;
Amendment 318 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Welcomes the recent appointment of Mr Christos Stylianides as the EU Special Envoy for the promotion of freedom of religion or belief; calls on the Commission to include objectives for the fight against persecution of minorities on the grounds of belief or religion as important part of his mandate; recommends that the Special Envoy works closely with the EU Special Representative for Human Rights and the Council Working Group on Human Rights (COHOM), and reiterates its calls on the Council and the Commission to adequately support the Special Envoy’s institutional mandate, capacity and duties with adequate financial and human resources;
Amendment 321 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Calls on the Council, the Commission, EEAS and EU Member States to address persecutions based on belief or religion as a priority of EU human rights foreign policy, in line with the EU action plan for human rights and democracy for 2020-2024; stresses that a multi-layered and multi-actor approach is needed to protect and promote freedom of religion or belief, encompassing human rights, conflict resolution and interfaith initiatives that involve multiple state and non-state actors; reiterates its call for a public review of the EU Guidelines on freedom of religion or belief, allowing for the assessment of their implementation and of proposals for their update; also calls for progress reports on the implementation of the Guidelines to be communicated regularly to Parliamentnotes that the EU Guidelines provide for an evaluation of their implementation by COHOM after a period of three years, and that no such evaluation has been communicated or made public; also calls for progress reports on the implementation of the Guidelines to be communicated regularly to Parliament; considers that such evaluation should highlight best practices, identify areas for improvement, and provide concrete recommendations on implementation, in accordance with a specified timeline and milestones and subject to regular annual evaluation; calls for the evaluation to be included in the EU Annual Reports on Human Rights and Democracy in the World;
Amendment 337 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 a (new)
Paragraph 32 a (new)
32a. Calls on the Commission to especially review the eligibility of third countries under the generalized scheme of preferences in this regard; advocates a system that gradually grants preferences to a country based on its compliance to human rights commitments, in order to better be able to provide incentives and sanctions;
Amendment 346 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 a (new)
Paragraph 33 a (new)
33a. Calls on the Council, the Commission and EU Member States to start the procedure to declare and officially designate the 24th of June as the annual European Day on Freedom of Religion or Belief, in order to show true commitment to promoting and protecting Freedom of Religion or Belief, in commemorating the victims of acts of violence based on religion or belief; believes that the 24th of June would be appropriate for such an EU-day, as this date marks the anniversary of the EU Guidelines on the promotion and protection of freedom of religion or belief in 2013;
Amendment 347 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 a (new)
Paragraph 33 a (new)
33a. Calls on the European Commission and other EU institutions to establish the 24th of June as the EU Day on Freedom of Religion and Belief;